


She Keeps Me Warm

by PsychedelicatePoltergeist



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Another Episode
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), F/F, Fluff, Future Fic, Getting Together, Gift Fic, Light Angst, Literal Sleeping Together, Love Confessions, Omake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2020-06-30 02:25:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19843630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PsychedelicatePoltergeist/pseuds/PsychedelicatePoltergeist
Summary: Komaru and Touko have continued to sleep beside each other in the same bed long after their adventures in Towa City. Each night, before they go to sleep, Touko progressively becomes more affectionate with Komaru. But one night, she refuses to sleep with Komaru for reasons she refuses to disclose. What could she be hiding?Includes a short bonus drabble at the very end!





	She Keeps Me Warm

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DarknessAwaits](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarknessAwaits/gifts).



> A late birthday present for a very special friend. <3

During their initial adventures in Towa City, Komaru had hoped that Touko would at least overcome her fear of ghosts and sleep by herself again. Given the world’s apocalyptic state, she didn’t know where she would sleep for the rest of her days, or who would accompany her. She knew she had much greater problems to be concerned about, such as finding food and reuniting with her family (were they even still alive?), but she missed having a bed to herself. She was growing to like Touko more and more as they continued to spend time together, but she’d decided that she was never going to stop being sick of her complaining about her hogging the blanket as they woke up each morning. What was Komaru supposed to do, surrender the blanket to her? She couldn’t do that. She couldn’t sleep if the blanket didn’t cover her entire torso.

Yet, even when the two of them moved into the Future Foundation headquarters, they continued to share a room and a bed. At that point, Komaru didn’t mind; in fact, she could even say that she was happy that things had worked out this way. Perhaps it was because the bed was queen-sized with a larger blanket, resulting in less complaining on Touko’s part every morning. Or maybe it was because, after all she’d been through, Komaru felt more secure knowing that her best friend was right beside her as she slept every night.

Her sleeping arrangements with Touko had since become a common subject of Makoto’s lighthearted teasing. She’d tried to explain to him multiple times that it was normal for girls to share a bed, and that she had, in fact, shared a bed with a close female friend of hers during at least one sleepover when she was younger. Unfortunately, her attempts at justifying the situation were futile, and Makoto received plenty of death glares from her, Touko, Byakuya and even Kyoko - not that it deterred him.

At first, the sleeping situation was perfectly chaste, but that began to change as the years passed. Touko was slowly becoming increasingly affectionate with her during the short, pleasant little moment they had together before Komaru fell into slumber. It started small, from reaching out and gently intertwining their fingers, but gradually became more openly tender as she instead stroked her hair and brushed a finger against her cheek. By the time they’d rented their own apartment, Touko was holding Komaru flush against her chest as they slept.

Komaru had never managed to find the time to date any boys - it was kind of difficult to even find any that she was interested in, especially nowadays - but, confusingly, feelings of happiness and warmth arose within her whenever Touko held her so close. Touko was warm and comforting, and Komaru had always loved hugging her friend, especially now that she was much more comfortable with physical contact, but… was this too much? Was it even possible - no,  _ allowed  _ \- to like another girl in the same way she’d like a boy? Wasn’t it a little  _ weird  _ to do such tender activities with her best friend? Then again, if Touko found it weird, she wouldn’t do it, right? She was the author of many best-selling romance novels, so she knew how this stuff worked. She knew the difference between romance and friendship, so these were nothing more than friendly gestures, right?

A small part of Komaru hoped that she was wrong.

┈┈┈┈┈୨♡୧┈┈┈┈┈

One night, everything changed.

Komaru, having just changed into a pair of soft, warm pyjamas, was climbing into bed when she realised that Touko wasn’t with her like she usually was; the other side of the bed was unoccupied. Touko preferred to turn in early whenever she could, so she was typically the first one out of the two girls to be in bed. Tonight, however, she wasn’t in their room at all.

Concerned, Komaru climbed back out of bed, sliding her feet back into her fuzzy slippers, and set off to look for her friend. Within seconds, she managed to find the Ultimate Writing Prodigy curled up on the sofa in the living room, a thin blanket just barely covering her body. Upon seeing Komaru, she turned away from her, staring off into the distance instead. Komaru immediately noticed the way she anxiously wrung her hands, trembling a little.

“Touko?” she called out. “What’s wrong?”

Touko looked up. For a very brief moment, their eyes met before Touko redirected her gaze down at her blanket. “N-nothing’s wrong,” she replied. “I just… want to have a go at sleeping alone again.”

“Well, it doesn’t look like it’s going well.” Komaru took a few steps closer to Touko and held out her arms, leaning in to pull her into a gentle embrace, only for the older woman to recoil against the armrest of the sofa. Only then did Komaru frown. Something wasn’t quite right. “Please, tell me what’s going on…”

“You’ll never understand.” Touko’s voice trembled as she pulled the blanket closer to her, as though using it as a shield.

“Maybe I won’t,” Komaru agreed. “But that’s never stopped me from trying to help!”

“But you c-can’t help me this time,” Touko insisted. “Surely… surely this time, you’ll finally see me for who I am - disgusting, selfish, worthless vermin!”

Komaru sighed, exasperated, knowing that she was running out of options. It’d been practically forever since the last time Touko had a fit like this, so she knew that something was really bothering her. She couldn’t give up on her friend. She needed to get to the root of the problem so that she could help her as best she could. “You’re not disgusting,” she said. “Honest. I’ve known you for a very long time, and I know for a fact that you’re kind, sweet and wonderful!”

“You’re just saying that,” Touko disagreed. “One day, when the truth comes out… you’ll t-take that back…” She was starting to tremble a little more now. Her eyes darted frantically around the room, as though looking for an escape route.

The truth? Touko was hiding something from her? Something so bad that she was now refusing to even be in the same bed as her? Something so bad that she’d now returned to refusing affection? Komaru’s heart sank as she thought it over and settled on a conclusion. Touko thought all the affection and love they’d shared over the years was too much. She’d finally come to realise that it wasn’t quite right for grown women to cuddle and caress each other the way they had. She couldn’t imagine how uncomfortable her friend must be feeling.

Komaru let out a sad sigh. “I’m sorry, Touko… I guess I should’ve known that us sleeping together and stuff was really weird for you.”

Touko took a deep breath. “Yeah,” she agreed quietly.

For a short moment, they were engulfed in an uncomfortable silence. Komaru thought about what Touko had just said to her.

_ “One day, when the truth comes out… you’ll t-take that back…” _

Touko had more-or-less admitted that the affection had made her uncomfortable. Whatever this secret was, she clearly didn’t plan on telling Komaru any time soon. She feared that Komaru would think less of her if she ever found out. But… what could she possibly be hiding? She’d told Komaru so much that she practically knew her inside out.

After taking a moment to gather her thoughts, something in Komaru’s mind finally clicked. Maybe she was just reading too much shoujo manga, but at that moment, she was positive that Touko was in love - with  _ her.  _ The thought made her heart flutter. Regardless, she felt bad for her best friend, but she knew that if she really wanted to help her, to set things right… she needed to be honest to herself and Touko about how she really felt about her.

“Touko…” Her heart thumped, and she bit her lip, but she told herself to push forward. There was no backing down now. “For awhile, I’ve been feeling really… warm, and safe, and happy around you. I haven’t felt this way around anyone in a very long time, but I know what it means…” She took a deep breath. It was time to confess. “I really, really like you.”

The look on Touko’s face was almost comical. Her cheeks were flushed scarlet, and her eyes had widened in bewilderment. Her grip on the blanket tightened. “Y-you’re not j-just saying that to m-mess with me, a-are you?” she stuttered.

Komaru couldn’t help but smile. “You know I always tell the truth,” she reminded her. “Well, I try to, but I’m being completely honest here. Trust me.” She paused for a moment, carefully observing Touko’s reaction; the writer only relaxed very slightly. She climbed onto the sofa before Touko and made another attempt at a hug. This time, the gesture was reciporocated as Touko wrapped her arms around her and rested her chin upon her shoulder. The blanket slid off the sofa and fell onto the floor.

As she held Touko closer, Komaru felt as though she were on cloud nine. Just like that, all of the tension and anxiety from the past few minutes had melted away. She was now in her happy place with the one she loved, and she wouldn’t even dream of being anywhere else.

“I’ve felt this way for a long time…” Touko murmured into her ear. “It was all so confusing… I haven’t been able to put a name to it until a couple of months ago…”

Komaru began to gently stroke Touko’s hair, threading her fingers through the knots. “I thought you knew all about love,” she teased.

Touko blushed. “I-I never said I was an expert!” she protested. “I know nothing about  _ lesbian  _ love!”

Komaru giggled. “Well, I guess we could learn the ropes together.” She pulled away from Touko and stood back up. Touko followed suit, and Komaru reached out to take her hand. “Ready for bed now?”

Touko nodded, and the two girls headed off to their bedroom, hand in hand. Tired but happy, they got under the covers and returned right where they left off. This time, Touko was the one stroking Komaru’s soft locks as the younger woman rested her head against her chest with her arms wrapped around her relaxed form.

“Goodnight, Komaru,” said Touko.

“Goodnight, Touko,” Komaru replied.

They were left in a content silence. Komaru had fully relaxed and closed her eyes, just about to drift off to sleep, when…

“Komaru.” Her name was spoken in a whisper.

“Mm?” She didn’t budge.

“Thank you. Thank you for… for everything.”

It was the last thing she heard before she nodded off in Touko’s arms with a smile on her face.

┈┈┈┈┈┈୨♡୧┈┈┈┈┈

**BONUS: Lesbians Are Real!?**

They were distinctly aware of the way Ibuki looked at them with eyes wide as saucers, as though they’d each just sprouted an extra head. Komaru felt Touko shift uncomfortably beside her. She squeezed her hand a little tighter, hoping to reassure her. They’d visited the former Remnants of Despair at Jabberwock Island a couple of times before, so Komaru had learned to get used to Ibuki and her quirks. Sort of.

“ _ Whoa! _ ” Ibuki exclaimed. The couple jumped. “Lesbians really are real? For real? Ibuki never thought she’d ever see any in the flesh!”

Touko coughed. “You… really didn’t think lesbians exist?”

Ibuki shrugged. “Ibuki’s just never seen any with her own eyes until now! She’s seen gays and plenty of heteros, but lesbians? Never!”

“Didn’t Mahiru and Hiyoko have something going on?” said Komaru.

“Not at all!” Ibuki replied. “They’re sisters, and nothing more than that!”

“So, uh…” Touko hesitated. “You  _ are  _ okay with us… you know… being lesbians, right?”

At that, Ibuki grinned so broadly that Komaru could’ve sworn she’d managed to achieve the feat of literally grinning from ear to ear. “Of course! Ibuki is just excited because she’s never met any lesbians before!”

Komaru and Touko exchanged glances. Indeed, Ibuki was still as eccentric as always.


End file.
